Two employees of The String Bean restaurant in Belmont told police they were robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night. The crime took place in the popular downtown area along North Main Street in Belmont. Police say that’s unusual in the heavily traveled area.

According to police, two String Bean employees, a man and woman, were taking a break outside the back of the restaurant near an alleyway. It was around 11:45 p.m. when they were approached by two men. Both men appeared to be armed with handguns, they told police.

One of the men hit the male employee on the head before demanding they both lie on the ground. While the employees were on the ground, police allege the men rummaged through their pockets and took personal items. Then, the men fled the restaurant on foot.

Police describe the suspects as one black male and one white male. The black male was reported to have been wearing a red bandana over his face.

The male employee was treated at the restaurant for what police described as minor injuries.

Belmont police say investigators are following up on possible leads. Physical evidence was recovered at the scene, police said. “We have some promising leads we’re working,” said Sgt. John Wilson with Belmont Police Department. “It is very uncharacteristic for downtown and we’re going to do everything we can. We want people to do everything as normal downtown, to frequent the businesses down there as usual.”

Anyone with information about the robbery is urged to call the Belmont Police Department at 704 825-3792.

You can reach reporter Lauren Baheri at 704-869-1842 or Twitter.com/lbaheri.